Mackanomics: Before You Say “I Do!”

Five Questions You Should Ask Before Taking The Plunge Into Marriage

Money should never be a divider in a relationship. Yet many divorces are due to disagreements over financial matters. Why? It is my contention that it is not financial irresponsibility, because many of us (myself included) have made financial mistakes. It is the surprises that ruin relationships. It is that additional bank account loaded with money that was kept secret, that unknown poor credit score or that irresponsible shopping addiction that causes financial turmoil and arguments in a relationship. How do we solve this?

First, let me demonstrate a critical point by telling you this story: There was a little boy who saw an elderly man sitting on a bench with a dog. The little boy walked up to the man and said, “Hey old man… does your dog bite?”

The old man said, “No… my dog doesn’t bite.”

“Are you sure?” said the little boy.

“Yep… I’m sure,” said the old man.

So the little boy went up to the dog and tried to pet him. Immediately, the dog growled, jumped up and bit the little boy on the hand.

“OUCH!” the little boy cried. “Hey old man, I thought you said your dog doesn’t bite!”

The old man said, “That ain’t my dog.”

The moral to this story is what we must apply to our financial lives…we must ask the right questions!

Before you say, “I Do,” here are five questions you should ask your potential mate.:

Do you know your FICO score?
If the answer is “NO,” the next question is, “Why not?” After you hear the reason, the next action I propose is to find out the credit score and if the score is low, work out an action plan to fix it. Even if your credit score is 800, you should propose this joint exercise because you don’t want him/her to feel alone.